Dems Look to Obama on DADT

House Democrats credit President Barack Obama for announcing he would work to repeal "don't ask, don't tell," but they wonder when they will see a concrete road map from the White House.

Politico checks in with a review of developments on the military policy since President Obama promised to work with Congress and the military to repeal DADT in his State of the Union address two weeks ago.

"But House Democratic leadership aides tell Politico they are growing increasingly worried over the lack of a detailed White House road map for passing a repeal -- and that without such a road map, repeal will end up in the same kind of Senate gridlock that hobbled health reform," reports Politico.

Sources tell Politico they are awaiting signals of a viable White House strategy to move repeal in the Senate, now that Defense secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have testified against DADT before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"House and Senate aides praised Obama, Mullen and Gates but say the administration's point man in the Senate, Jim Messina, hasn't followed up with a detailed plan for how to proceed, leading to some confusion," reports Politico.

"And hopes that Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) would galvanize moderates in both parties to the cause by introducing the repeal bill have yet to materialize despite months of negotiations between Lieberman and the White House, according to people familiar with the situation."

According to Politico, some liberals are fretting over what appears to be the Obama strategy of playing to the left in national messaging while attempting to soothe centrists inside the Beltway.